St. Charles Singers set to launch 40th anniversary season

The St. Charles Singers, based in St. Charles, Illinois, kick off their 40th anniversary season this fall under the direction of Founder and Artistic Director Jeffrey Hunt.

“The music during this festive season,” says Hunt, “highlights what I feel are the special strengths of the St. Charles Singers. Communicating in a genuine way, with integrity and authenticity. Singing that is energetic, passionate and informed.”

The acclaimed mixed-voice chamber choir opens its 2024-25 season in October with hometown concerts featuring works by three contemporary Illinois composers, including the program’s title work, “Pause, Reflect, and Ponder.” These are paired with choral gems from international classical greats Maurice Duruflé, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and others.

In December, the choir organizes the program “Candlelight Carols”, where the singers share the stage with the Metropolis String Ensemble. The program consists of a capella scores and works for choir and strings.

This year’s holiday concerts have special anniversary significance. The St. Charles Singers made their debut in December 1984, as the Mostly Madrigal Singers, with a Candlelight Carols concert at the historic Baker Hotel on the Fox River in downtown St. Charles.

The St. Charles Singers will host their second annual “Choral Connections” concerts in February. The ensemble’s community outreach initiative features the choir and choral ensembles of six local high schools, most of whose choir directors also sing with the St. Charles Singers. At each concert, the St. Charles Singers and three different high school ensembles perform on their own and, for the finale, sing together as a group.

“The goal is to instill, nurture and celebrate a lifelong love of the choral arts,” Hunt said.

The choir will close its 40th anniversary season in April at St. Charles with “The Passing of the Year.” The concert takes its title from Jonathan Dove’s song cycle for double choir and piano, which captures the essence of the seasons.

“Pause, Think and Reflect” October 26-27

The St. Charles Singers’ season-opening concert, “Pause, Reflect, and Ponder,” highlights works by three Northern Illinois composers: Marybeth Kurnat of DeKalb, a soprano with the St. Charles Singers; Rockford-based, British-born Donald Fraser, “a well-known and acclaimed composer” (AllMusic.com); and veteran choral conductor and educator Robert Boyd of Westmont.

Kurnat’s “For the Sake of Your Journey” is a musical setting of a poem mounted in the famous Chapel of Bones in Evora, Portugal. Written by a 19th century parish priest, it urges visitors to “pause,” “reflect,” and “contemplate” their own mortality, hence the concert title. Kurnat came across the poem when he visited the chapel during the St. Charles Singers’ 2023 Iberian Peninsula concert tour.

In his ‘Magnificat’, which premiered in 2018, Fraser interweaves text from Mary’s canticle from the Gospel of Luke with verses from a 19th-century poem about the songs of Mary.

Boyd’s contribution is a reworking of the traditional, tragic British folk ballad “Two Brothers”.

The concert also includes Ivo Antognini’s “Canticum Novum”, Charles Villiers Stanford’s “O for a Closer Walk With God”, Ivor Gurney’s “Since I Believe in God the Father Almighty”, György Orbán’s “Daemon Irrepit Callidus” and Maurice Duruflé’s “Sanctus” from his “Requiem”, Opus 9.

In addition, the choir will perform works including Ēriks Ešenvalds’ “O Salutaris Hostia”, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “O Clap Your Hands” and Fanny Hensel’s “Lockung”, Opus 3, No. 1. Hensel was the sister of composer Felix Mendelssohn.

Concerts are scheduled for Saturday, October 26 at 7:30 PM and Sunday, October 27 at 3:00 PM at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, 307 Cedar Avenue, St. Charles, Illinois.

“Candlelight Carols” will resound with songs for voices and strings from December 6-8

For the first time in more than a decade, the St. Charles Singers will enlist a string ensemble to perform at their annual Candlelight Carols concerts.

The choir is accompanied by the 10-piece Metropolis String Ensemble.

“Strings add an extra touch of holiday magic to the enchanting sounds of our choir and the enchanting melodies of the songs,” said Hunt.

Concertgoers will hear the St. Charles Singers’ first performances of Francis Poulenc’s “Quatre motets pour le temps de Noël,” Mitchell B. Southall’s “In Silent Night,” and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Fantasia on Christmas Carols.”

Poulenc’s hauntingly beautiful motet cycle paints four colorful scenes from the Christmas story with music that evokes awe, mystery, and joy. Hunt intersperses the motets with songs that develop the scenes.

African-American composer Southall subtitled his “In Silent Night” “A Christmas Vignette in Pastel.” Hunt calls it “a sweet, gentle, deceptively simple song with a jazzy feel.”

Hunt describes Vaughan Williams’ “Fantasia” as “a memorable medley of some of the season’s most extraordinary melodies.” It is one of six numbers that feature string instruments with the choir.

Also on the programme are John Rutter’s “Nativity Carol” and “What Sweeter Music”, R.R. Terry’s “Myn Lyking”, Harold Darke’s “In the Bleak Midwinter”, George Frideric Handel’s “For Unto Us a Child is Born” from his “Messiah”, Peter Warlock’s “Benedicamus Domino”, John Tavener’s “The Lamb”, Malcolm Sargent’s “Zither Carol”, based on a Czech folk tune with lyrics by the composer, and David Willcocks’ “Silent Night”, arranged by Boyd.

“These concerts,” says Hunt, “will be filled with music that evokes the warmth, peace and joy of the season.”

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, December 6, at St. Michael Catholic Church, 310 S. Wheaton Ave., Wheaton, Illinois; 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 7, and 3 p.m. on Sunday, December 8, at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, St. Charles.

“Choral Connections” with choir and six secondary school ensembles from the region from February 21 to 22

The second annual installment of the St. Charles Singers’ “Choral Connections” concerts on February 21 and 22 will feature two different programs. At each event, the St. Charles Singers will perform a set of songs, as will choirs from three suburban Chicago high schools. For the finale, they will all sing together.

Concert details will be announced in early 2025.

The first concert will be performed by the St. Charles Singers and choirs from St. Charles North High School, directed by Michael Molloy; Batavia High School, directed by Peter Barsch; and Fremd High School, Palatine, directed by Christina Collins.

Collins is a soprano with the St. Charles Singers.

The following day’s program features the St. Charles Singers and choirs from West Aurora High School, led by Lydia Walsh-Rock and Brian Smith; Kaneland High School, Maple Park, led by Bryan Kunstman; and Glenbard North High School, Carol Stream, led by Laura Johnson.

Walsh-Rock and Johnson are sopranos with the St. Charles Singers, Kunstman and Smith are tenors.

“This program was a highlight for everyone who participated last year and will be the same this year,” said Hunt.

“Choral Connections” will be performed on Friday, February 21, 2025 at 7:30 PM and Saturday, February 22 at 7:30 PM at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, St. Charles.

“The Passing of the Year” closes anniversary season on April 12 and 13

“The Passing of the Year,” the finale of the St. Charles Singer’s 40th anniversary season, takes its title from British composer Jonathan Dove’s choral cycle of the same name, composed for double choir and piano.

Commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra, Dove wrote a work in seven parts, in which he describes a journey through the seasons using verses by leading poets.

Herbert Howells’ “Requiem” is a deeply moving work performed for the first time by the St. Charles Singers. Composed for unaccompanied choir with soloists, it combines texts from the traditional Requiem Mass and other sacred texts, including Psalms.

Grammy-nominated American composer Jake Runestad’s Cello Songs was commissioned by the St. Charles Singers, who gave the world premiere in October 2021. It is composed for choir, cello and piano, with text by poet and librettist Todd Boss. The work’s four movements are named after the seasons of the year.

The choir sings the double “Agnus Dei” movement by Italian Renaissance composer Giovanni Palestrina from his Missa Brevis. The first setting calls for four voices, the second for five.

Lee Kesselman’s “Hymn to Time” is a choral meditation on time, with lyrics by science fiction and fantasy author Ursula K. Le Guin. With a soaring lyricism, the piece follows a circular path, with music that references ticking clocks and Westminster bells.

“This concert brings together passion, joy, heartfelt expression and musical innovation,” Hunt says. “These are all aspects of what this choir wants to convey.”

The concerts are on Saturday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 13 at 3:00 p.m. at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, St. Charles.

Tickets and information

Single tickets for the St. Charles Singers concerts in October, December and April are $45 for adults, $40 for seniors 65 and older and $12 for students. Season pass holders offer discounts on single tickets. Group discounts are available.

The adult and senior admission fee for each of the February “Choral Connections” concerts is $25.

Tickets and information are available at stcharlessingers.com or by calling 630-513-5272. Tickets are also available at Townhouse Books, 105 N. Second Ave., St. Charles (checks or cash only at this ticket location). Tickets may also be purchased at the door the day of the concert, subject to availability.

St. Charles Singers

Founded and directed by Jeffrey Hunt, the St. Charles Singers is a chamber choir dedicated to choral music in all its forms. Hailed by American Record Guide as “a national treasure,” the mixed-voice ensemble is comprised of professional singers, choral directors, and voice instructors, some of whom perform with other top Chicago choirs. Classics Today has called the ensemble “one of the finest choirs in North America,” noting its “charisma and first-rate musicianship” that “add character and excitement to every piece.” The Chicago Tribune has described the St. Charles Singers as “beautifully disciplined, beautifully responsive” and proclaimed, “Chamber choral singing doesn’t get much better than this.” Notable guest conductors of the St. Charles Singers include renowned English composer John Rutter, founder of the Cambridge Singers; Philip Moore, composer and former music director of York Minster Cathedral in England; and Grammy Award-winning American choral conductor Craig Hella Johnson. The choir was founded in 1984 in St. Charles, Illinois, as the Mostly Madrigal Singers.

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